The Village Square: April 21, 2016

Last night my gaming group geared up for the new Betrayal at House on the Hill expansion (see below) with a jaunt through everybody’s favorite haunted house. After the traitor was revealed, our team managed to survive and win, despite voodoo dolls and other witchcraft. Full disclosure: my character died, but I like to think that she celebrated the victory in the afterlife.

Widow’s WalkThe first-ever expansion to the classic Betrayal at House on the Hill is due October 14th, just in time for your Halloween game night. Widow’s Walk will feature 20 new room tiles (for a whole new floor of the house), 30 new event and item cards, and 50 new haunts.

Mensa WinnersWinners of the 2016 Mensa Select Awards are New York 1901, Circular Reasoning, World’s Fair 1893, Favor of the Pharaoh, and The Last Spike.

Kicks on Route 666A “zombie road trip game” by Martin Wallace, Route 666 is currently in development from Space Cowboys. Players will race “from Chicago to L.A. through an increasingly difficult deck of location cards, scavenging for gas, ammo, and rations as they go. Their biggest obstacle? The hordes of zombies that attack them at nearly every turn.”

The Force Among UsBryan Young explores the Star Wars universe connections among film, print, and Fantasy Flight Games. Spoiler alert: Star Wars Rebels seasons one and two are discussed.

Undead SoundsThe composers of the Zombies!!! board game soundtrack are back in the studio for another album of undead-inspired music. Tentative release date is this September.

Merchants & Marauders: BroadsidesLast week we reported about Z-Man’s tweet of the Gen Con release of Merchants & Marauders: Broadsides and now we have more info from the latest press release: it’s a two-player standalone game that promises to be a “confrontational game in which opposing players will be facing impossible choices to survive the deadly battle: spending resources to defend and repair their ship or unloading everything they’ve got on the enemy.”

Cowabunga
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters game will hit retail stores next month, according to the WizKids press release. In addition to Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo, the game will feature “more than a dozen of the most popular TMNT heroes and villains … [and contain]gameplay scenarios that support two to four players.”

Unlucky DiceDue to production difficulties, Game Salute is cancelling its fully funded Kickstarter campaign for its Rocket Dice. Full refunds are being offered to backers.

The Unspeakable OneHere’s a preview of one of the characters in Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu, which debuts at Gen Con later this year.

Origins NomineesThe 2016 Origins Award nominees have been announced here. Winners of all categories (board games, card games, miniatures games, collectible games, family games, game accessories, and role-playing games) will be revealed at Origins in June.